Missions Alive! Middle East/North Africa Study for Grades 1-6 Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Creative Access Ministries Free Methodist World Missions Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 page 1 Missions Alive! 2012-2013 How to use Missions Alive! Put this curriculum in a three-ring binder for easy use. In order to find the sections quickly, you might want to make index tabs to separate them. A sticky note on the first page of each sec- tion might even do the trick. Feel free to make as many copies of the curriculum as you need for each teacher and student. You may also download the curriculum from our ebsite, www.fmwm.org. We hope you find this curriculum user-friendly. Drop us a line and let us know what you think about Missions Alive! - Paula Gillespie, editor Free Methodist World Missions - 770 N. High School Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46214 Missions Alive! staff editor: Paula J. Gillespie consultants: team to Middle East/North Africa, Judy Litsey proofreaders: Linda Sanders, Jennifer Veldman artist: Lynn Hartzell Missions Alive! is a product of Free Methodist World Missions Missions Alive! © 2012 by Free Methodist World Missions Free Methodist Church USA Indianapolis, IN 46214 Printed in the U.S.A. Permission is granted to copy this leader’s guide for use by local children’s leaders and educa- tors only. Please note, however, that Missions Alive! materials are copyrighted by Free Method- ist World Missions, which owns all material and illustrations. It is against the law to copy any of these materials for any commercial promotion, advertising or sale of a product or service. Note some materials in this curriculum are reprinted with permission from other publishers and are owned by those individual publishers. We appreciate their allowing us to reprint these ideas to expand your students’ cultural experience. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Missions Alive! 2012-2013 page 2 Greetings teachers and children! Welcome to the Middle East and North Africa, which we’ll often refer to as the “Middle East” in this curriculum! Welcome to some new resources! We have all been reading of Bible lands for many years. We know about Israel and Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We have even read about Jonah and his ride in a whale to Nineveh. Do you know where Nineveh is? Or, where is the creekbank where Jacob wrestled with an angel? These places are not in Israel but are certainly in the Bible. Today Iraq is the name of the country where the city of Nineveh was located. Nineveh is now called Mosul. And the prophet Nahum is buried about 30 miles away in a place called Al Qush, the same name it had when he lived about 4,000 years ago. (He also preached in Nineveh but didn’t have to go by fish ride.) The Babylonians and the Assyrians, Chaldeans and many others live in this area. Jacob wrestled with an angel in the land now called Jordan. Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked into the Promised Land, is in Jordan and still called by the same name. Many more events recoreded in the Bible happened in what is now the country of Jordan. What exciting things happened in these lands! The Free Methodist Church is working in these places, as well as Egypt, where the Israelites once lived in captivity. I hope as you read and study what we are doing there, you will be more motivated to pray for “Bible lands” where God’s Word is still being preached, even by Free Methodists. When you read the newspapers about things happening there, or learn about them on TV, remember that even in these troubled countries, God is at work today. He loves the people of the world. He loves the people of the Bible lands, just as He loves us. Pray for your missionaries. Learn about them and their work. Pray for Christian leaders. Give what you can to help them. And, don’t forget to tell your neighbors that Jesus loves them too! Dr. Henry - Area Director for Middle East/North Africa page 3 Missions Alive! 2012-2013 Contents Introductory Material Creative Access Ministries? What’s That? ...............................................................page 5 suggested lesson plan ......................................................................................... pages 6-8 postcard invitations .................................................................................................page 9 missions fair ideas .......................................................................................... pages 10-11 teacher’s notes/editor’s note ..................................................................................page 12 goals, teaching tips ......................................................................................... pages 13-14 details that make a difference ......................................................................... pages 14-17 offering project pages ..................................................................................... pages 18-19 world religions ............................................................................................... pages 20-21 Parents’ Partner .............................................................................................. pages 22-23 passport .......................................................................................................... pages 24-25 memory verse materials ................................................................................. pages 26-28 prayer resources ............................................................................................. pages 29-36 Christian Life Club requirements ................................................................... pages 37-38 leading children to Christ ......................................................................................page 39 name tags .............................................................................................................page 40 Features stories from the Middle East/North Africa, Explore class activities .............. pages 41-64 Facts introduction to country fact information ...............................................................page 65 continent maps ............................................................................................... pages 66-67 country profile pages ...................................................................................... pages 68-69 country and people group facts (includes flags and country map) ................. pages 70-84 worker information ........................................................................................ pages 85-87 children’s letters ............................................................................................. pages 88-89 missions information ...................................................................................... pages 90-95 country profile answers .........................................................................................page 96 Fun culture introduction ...............................................................................................page 97 games ............................................................................................................. pages 98-99 crafts ........................................................................................................... pages 100-108 care ticket ............................................................................................................page 109 word puzzles and activity pages ................................................................ pages 110-120 songs and instrument crafts ........................................................................ pages 121-126 recipes ........................................................................................................ pages 127-133 recommended resources and suggested reading ........................................ pages 134-136 bibliography ............................................................................................... pages 137-138 evaluation ............................................................................................................page 139 Missions Alive! 2012-2013 page 4 Creative Access Ministries? What’s That? an introduction for teachers and students The Free Methodist Church has work emails and packages may all be opened in some countries we cannot talk about or and looked over; someone working for the put in print or on a website. Those countries government may listen to their phone calls. do not allow missionaries to come to their Churches, families and friends back country, nor do they want to allow what in the worker’s home country need to be they think is a foreign intrusion like cautious in communicating with and about Christianity to spread to their country. the worker. It is best to refer to them by Some of these nations have adopted official whatever professional role they have, such religions and make it very difficult for as: “Jeff, our worker in northern Africa, is a anyone who does not follow that religion. teacher.” Referring to Jeff as a “missionary” God wants the people of these nations could jeopardize his work in the country. to know about His love for them. So God Workers need to recognize that alternate has asked some Free Methodists to find religions are a part of that country’s daily “creative” ways to go to these closed life and culture. They also need to be aware countries. He has also helped congregations that if someone